Psalm 89:24 “My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn will be exalted.”

Throughout the Old Testament “horn” is used to symbolize either strength or, by extension, ruler. With that cleared up, we can consider this promise made to David and His Descendant (Christ). It’s impor­tant to remember that all such promises extend also to those who are in Christ, to the degree that they abide in Him. When we remember that last point, reading through the promises in Scripture should be enough to make anyone do everything they can to abide in Christ! (I think it’s unfortunate that the NIV translation committee decided to replace “abide” with “remain.” The meanings aren’t so different, but “abide” feels much more volitional to me.) Jesus made it clear that what we can do to that end is to obey Him, and that calls for getting His Word into our hearts. (John 15:7, 10) It is when we abide in Him that His Name rests on us, and we are able to pray and act in His Name. We often glibly tack “In Jesus’ Name” onto our prayers, with no thought of whether we are walking in submitted obedience to Him, and then we wonder why our prayers aren’t answered! God’s power isn’t limited, but by our disobedience we distance ourselves from being able to operate in that power. Psalm 89 as a whole is a recitation of God’s character and His promises, leading up to a cry (from verse 38 on) over why things are so bad at the time it was written. The answer is very simply that the people and their leaders wanted the blessings without the obedience, and God cares too much about our character to allow that to happen.

This of course applies to me, as it does to everyone on earth. There are many who have not yet entered into God’s family by faith, but even among those that have, there are many who aren’t committed to obedience. I must not be one of those! The current situation in the US certainly comes to mind as I write. America, originally founded on Biblical principles, has rejected obedience to God to a degree that is astounding to me, and it is starting to reap the fruit of that. I grieve, and I pray for a revival of repentance, for people, men, to stand up as husbands and fathers and say, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) When that happens, and only when that happens, America will indeed be restored to being a “shining city on a hill,” as Ronald Reagan spoke of. That will not be by politics, but by repentant obedience. Nations have to obey the rules just as people do, because nations are made up of people, and the Bible is clear that there is no salvation without repentance. I am not to bemoan the state of the nation and ignore or excuse my own lack of obedience!

Father, I hear many voices from the US at this point bemoaning the current state of affairs, but few that really call for repentance. I ask You to pour out Your Spirit on America, as I have asked You to pour it out on Japan, so that veils may be lifted from people’s eyes and they may see themselves and see You, and repent. Only then will we see the tsunami of salvation that we need. Have mercy on us, Lord, for the sake of Your Name and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!